The European Investment Bank, the EU's long-term financing arm, is contributing a loan of EUR 300 million towards financing construction of the Radial 3 and Radial 5 motorways and the western section of the M-50 Madrid ring road.
The project forms part of the Ministry of Public Works' global strategy for enhancing the capacity of Spain's motorway network. The 50-year concession to design, build, finance and operate the motorways was awarded to the company Accesos de Madrid, Concesionaria Española, S.A. (AMCESA) by the Ministry of Public Works in 1999.
Specifically, the EIB loan will serve to finance construction of:
- 33.12 km of new two and three-lane toll motorway between the M-40 and Arganda del Rey (R-3),
- 28.9 km of two and three-lane toll motorway between the M-40 and Navalcarnero (R5),
- 29.3 km of the new two-lane M-50 ring road.
The project will improve traffic conditions in south-east and south-west Madrid, lowering the risk of accidents, cutting journey times and reducing environmental pollution while contributing in the long term to the region's overall economic development. It will likewise serve to extend the existing section of the trans-European motorway network around the Spanish capital.
The EIB was founded in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic Community, with the aim of fostering enhanced integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion in the Member States by providing long-term financing for capital investment furthering EU objectives.
Specifically, the EIB supports viable projects promoting: development of the Union's less favoured regions; construction of trans-European transport, telecoms and energy networks; the international competitiveness and integration of Europe's industry, especially SMEs; environmental protection and improvement; security of the Union's energy supply; and health and education. Owned by the EU Member States, the EIB funds its lending operations through borrowings raised on the capital markets, where its bond issues systematically enjoy the top AAA rating.
In 2002, the EIB signed loans in Spain totalling EUR 5 426 million, of which EUR 1 292 million went to European communications infrastructure projects. EU-wide, the EIB financed projects in the transport sector to the tune of over EUR 9 200 million.